I kept passing on “Searching for Sugar Man” until late one night when I needed an hour of cardiovascular time and something to do with my mind.
I regretted my decision at first.
Oh, no, I thought, as the film opened on the bleak, empty streets of Detroit. It’s another one of those sad tales where no one kept records, saved their photographs or remembered enough to accurately tell the tale of the long gone, urban musical genius.
I dreaded the ending when the storyteller disclosed that most of what we had been told in the last hour and 26 minutes about Sixto Rodriguez—who was “better than Bobby Dylan”— is as amorphous and mysterious as the fog that surrounded the bars along the Detroit River or the haze inside where he was first discovered in 1967.
Abruptly, we are speeding along, down the wrong side of the road mind you, in a car driven by Stephen Segerman, through mountainous South Africa near Cape Town. Segerman relates his early fascination with Rodriguez’s signature song, “Sugar Man,” partly because military acquaintances could not pronounce his last name and he became “Sugar Man,” too.
Then he relates how, in repressive, Apartheid-ruled South Africa of the 1970s, this failed American recording artist became “bigger than Elvis.”
We learn that a pretty American hippie girl flew into Cape Town with one of the singer’s two albums, “Cold Fact,” under her arm. She subsequently shared it with her new-found mates, and thus launched a musical legend. Bootleggers embraced his two albums initially. Then, Rodriquez’s anti-establishment urgings inspired meteoric sales.
So compelling were his heartfelt melodies that not even state censorship—authorities scratched through the vinyl’s offending tracks—could still his voice or calm the revolution it fueled.
Who was this amazing man, who accomplished so much musically and culturally to so little acclaim? How could he inspire a new generation nearly 10,000 miles from the city where he was born but die young and unfulfilled?
Some say he died at the conclusion of a concert where he incinerated himself, an agonizing death from a ball of flames. Others contend he pulled a pistol from his pants and put a bullet in his brain.
Sugar had to find out.
Sugar scoured the well-worn album covers in search of clues amongst the names of those responsible for his records’ production. He hunted down hints buried in the lyrics of the singer’s tunes. The songs mentioned New York, Amsterdam and Dearborn … might he have left traces there?
Sugar also buried himself in the burgeoning blogosphere, scrambling for any evidence of the long-dead artist. Had he died a pauper despite his popularity and lucrative sales in South Africa?
We take a detour to Detroit, Palm Springs and Los Angeles for some serious accusations about who absconded with young Rodriquez’s well-deserved mini-fortune.
The search for someone, anyone, who can tell Sugar more about the hero of his youth, continues, including the posting of a drawing on a milk carton featuring Rodriguez’s photograph on Sugar’s website (“The Great Rodriguez Hunt”).
Documentary Spoilers Ahead
One day he gets a message on his website – “My name’s Eva. I’m Rodriguez’s daughter.” Later they speak about his search and his excitement in learning her father is very much alive.
That night, at 1 a.m., the telephone rings on Sugar’s wife’s side of the bed. It is the deep-throated, soft-spoken voice of Sixto Rodriguez, calling from Detroit, where after his failed music career he has been all along.
Living in obscurity for four decades in the same rundown house, he labors each day doing the construction work no one else wants near—gutting abandoned tenements, hauling out crumbling drywall and hefting refrigerators on his back down creaky staircases.
Resurrected for us, he speaks without bitterness about his short years as a performing artist. We meet his three devoted and talented daughters who he taught to look beyond the world in which they were born, raised and he now lives.
Most significantly, we join him and his daughters on a triumphant return to standing room only crowds throughout South Africa. As if it were long ago, in a bar in Detroit, he steps to the microphone to return anew to the songs of his youth, but his audiences now number thousands in auditoriums there and millions around the world thanks to the Oscar winning “Searching for Sugar Man.”
Today, he is earning the fortune denied him decades ago, but he gives it away to family and friends. The singer continues living the life of an urban ascetic amidst Detroit’s mean streets.
And we’re richer that he came back into our lives by way of a highly entertaining and enthralling documentary.
William Perry Pendley, an attorney, is author of “Sagebrush Rebel: Reagan’s Battle with Environmental Extremists and Why It Matters Today” (Regnery, 2013) and two unproduced screenplays, “The Tenth Justice” and “Before I Die.”
The post HiT Rewind: ‘Searching for Sugar Man’ (2012) appeared first on Hollywood in Toto.
Nana Patekar lately has been facing a lot of flak from actress Tanushree Dutta. She has accused the actor of sexually harassing her in 2008 on the sets of the film 'Horn OK Pleassss' while shooting a song. The reports were doing the rounds that owing to these allegations the actor is missing from the sets of the movie 'Housefull 4'. The reports also had that Nana had reached the desert town and his scenes might by shot later by the director. However, the sources recently denied all such rumors.According to the recently revealed report from a close source, Nana has been present on the sets and is very much involved in the shooting. The reports of his absence are nothing but false and there's a light-hearted atmosphere persisting on the sets. Further, the actor's shooting schedule is likely to wrap up by next week, following which he will return to Mumbai.Directed by Sajid Khan and produced by Sajid Nadiadwala, the film is slated to release on 26th October 2019.
Aarya Ambekar recently attended Jio Filmfare Marathi Awards 2018 held at Mumbai. As we caught up with her on the red carpet, we asked her if she prefers singing or acting?
Kevin Hart’s positive social media vibes are seeping into his feature films.
Hart’s production company is behind “Night School,” an occasionally funny comedy with a serious message to deliver.
Don’t worry, this isn’t another Hollywood lecture. The film is too busy leveraging Hart’s high-pitched squeal. And recruiting new It Comic Tiffany Haddish is Shrewd Move No. 2.
You may not get any belly laughs but seeing students scramble for their American dreams is better than an extra large popcorn.
Hart’s Teddy Walker never graduated high school, something we see through a clunky flashback. Teddy blamed “The Man” and racially biased test questions, but he comes off like a 2001 snowflake.
Flash forward to the present, and Teddy is a successful BBQ salesman. He’s a natural, the kind of guy who could sell Sen. Elizabeth Warren a set of “Rush Revere” books. One slapstick disaster later, and he’s out of a job.
A chum offers him a sweet gig, but he’ll need to get his GED to apply. Enter Carrie (Haddish), a no-nonsense teacher who oversees the local night school.
Better yet, we’re introduced to Teddy’s fellow students who do more than offer him moral support. Rob Riggle, Mary Lynn Rajskub, Romany Malco, Al Madrigal and Fat Joe (as an imprisoned student studying via Skype) give the narrative both humor and heart.
They may not be big names, but the supporting players keep salvaging scenes, making generic lines pop and otherwise give us a reason to endure the long running time.
As for the rest of the story, suffice to say you won’t need that Magic 8 Ball to suss it all out.
“Night School” leans hard on its deep cast, including “Saturday Night Live” alum Taran Killam as the school’s unctuous principal. He gets one of several smart running gags, sorely needed in a film that pads its length with two unnecessary dance sequences.
Some comic subplots go nowhere, like a Chik-Fil-A spoof that’s neither funny nor mean spirited. Others, including Carrie’s feisty attempt to help Teddy focus, is so dumb you’ll cover your eyes in shame.
That’s how “Night School” rolls. It’s a collision of clever concepts and hopelessly dense detours. Through it all the students refuse to be victims. Night school is their second chance, and for some it’s akin to a Hail Mary pass.
They just need a little emotional support, a bone to the “It takes a village” crowd.
There’s a subtle message behind the story, one that fits snugly with Hart’s off-screen persona. Work hard, stop blaming others and you, too, can succeed. Maybe you won’t be as wealthy as Hart, one of the rare bankable actors left in Hollywood. You’ll just have to endure the umpteenth Trump/Cheetos joke to absorb the uplifting tone.
Director Malcolm D. Lee (“Girls Trip”) keeps the tone light, the pacing crisp. He knows how to make the most of a pedestrian project. Hart and Haddish aren’t as combustible as you expect, but their on-screen bond offers other, less obvious rewards.
HiT or Miss: “Night School” rarely lives up to its potential, but sporadic laughs, a killer cast and a fine message help pave over the film’s pitfalls.
The post Clunky ‘Night School’ Offers Conservative Balm appeared first on Hollywood in Toto.
Strong performances and fine moments that weave into a convincing story.
Actress Tanushree Dutta has been hitting the headlines ever since she spoke about been sexually harassed by actor nana Patekar on a set tofu a film. The actress had also allegedly stated that Nana has a history of misbehaving with women.
The makers of upcoming film ‘URI’ took to social media to release the logo and announce that the teaser of film will be out tomorrow.
Priyanka Chopra, who was in Italy over the weekend to attend the grand engagement bash of Isha Ambani and Anand Piramal, shone like a bright star in her stunning outfit. Recently a video surfaced on Twitter where the 'Bajirao Mastani' star is walking in style at the airport.
Shah Rukh Khan is undoubtedly one of the biggest movie stars in the world. But even King Khan has some off days, and the actor revealed that how on one such day, he was deeply inspired by something.
Taking to his Instagram handle, Big B shared a monochrome picture of Shweta and Abhishek from their childhood days where they can be seen savouring ice-creams.
On Thursday afternoon, Tanushree Dutta invited the media to talk about the controversy that has erupted over her claims of harassment on the sets of the film ‘Horn Ok Pleassss’ in 2008
Alia Bhatt and Ranbir Kapoor have been making the headlines almost every day. Though they have not come out in open about their rumoured relationship, their pictures and outings are a proof enough.On the latest front, reports are rife that Alia Bhatt will be seen on the new season of Karan Johar’s chat show ‘Koffee With Karan’ with Ranbir Kapoor. Recently when the actress was asked if she will be on the show and if yes, who will be her partner, she reportedly said that although she will be part of the show, she cannot reveal as to who will accompany her as yet.Alia Bhatt and Ranbir Kapoor will next be seen in Ayan Mukerji’s upcoming fantasy film ‘Brahmastra’.
Recently, when Salman Khan was asked what he thinks about the concept of ‘love at first sight’, he reportedly said that it happens to him every time.
Virat Kohli and Anushka Sharma have always been considered a power couple. But more importantly, the way the two behave around each other is the one thing that leaves their fans giddy.
Actor Ranveer Singh says he had a fan moment meeting Indian star shuttler P.V. Sindhu and added that he loves her spirit.
Bollywood celebs made their presence felt recently in Italy when they attended the grand engagement bash of Isha Ambani and Anand Piramal.
The freakiest urban legend I’ve ever heard is the one known as “The Hippie Babysitter.”
According to “The Encyclopedia of Urban Legends” (written in 2002 by Jan Harold Brunvand), the story was created in the 1960s as a reaction to fears about the counter-cultural movement.
It goes like this: a couple leaves their baby in the care of a friendly, seemingly competent young person who is visibly a hippie (the teller tends to alter the exact age and sex of the sitter). The couple calls home to check on how things are going and the hippie answers, responding that everything is going just fine.
The hippie also brags that he/she just stuffed a turkey and put it in the oven. The couple both declare that they don’t have a turkey, hang up and rush home. The couple discovers that the hippie was on LSD (or really good pot – again, depends on who’s telling the tale) and has stuffed the baby to death.
The more devious storytellers like to add that the hippie has not only cooked the dead infant but, as the parents come home, has already started eating dinner as well. My own personal addition is that the babysitter is stunned to learn the parents are both cannibals and, after sharing some LSD with the babysitter, they all sit down for a friendly meal.
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!
The apparent lesson: don’t hire a dirty hippie to babysit your kids.
While I was a college student, I heard the infamous “Aren’t You Glad You Didn’t Turn on the Light” tale and it cost me many a good night’s sleep. That urban legend is faithfully recreated in Jamie Blanks’ 1998 horror hit, “Urban Legend [Collector’s Edition] [Blu-ray],” which I saw while I was a dorm rat/college sophomore. The film turns 20 Sept. 25 and will soon receive a jammed Blu-ray Collector’s Edition from the good folks/horror aficionados at Scream Factory (Nov. 20).
“Urban Legend” takes place at a fictitious college in which there’s an actual class on urban legends, taught by no less than Robert Englund. A cluster of young students discovers that a sinister urban legend is also a part of their school’s dark history.
Even worse?
Someone wearing a snow jacket with a fuzzy hood is stalking around campus and murdering people in the style of various urban legends.
Allow me to mention the cast: you’ve got Jared Leto in the lead, offering the novelty of seeing the eventual Oscar winner and rock star in a slasher movie. He co-stars with Alicia Witt, an engaging actress who seemed on the cusp of big things after this.
There’s also Tara Reid, a survivor whose “Sharknado” stints have made her B-movie royalty (no kidding, it’s a nice comeback), a charismatic Joshua Jackson (sporting a bad blond dye job), a pre-Lex Luthor Michael Rosenbaum and Rebecca Gayheart, in her definitive performance as the classmate who looks like “that girl in the Noxema commercial” (an in-joke to Gayheart’s prior career).
It’s a great ensemble cast, far better than the film deserves.
Leto plays a reporter for the college newspaper and frequently mentions his yearning to obtain a “student Pulitzer.” As a former columnist for my university’s Cougar Trax, I greatly admired the intensity of Leto’s character and his investment in student journalism; he makes Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein look like slackers in comparison.
RELATED: ‘Teenage Slasher’ Book Brings Gore, Needs More
Natasha Gregson Wagner, the talented daughter of Natalie Wood and Robert Wagner, does Drew Barrymore duty in the well staged opening scene. That said, the prologue was still done far better at the top of the underrated 1983 horror anthology, “Nightmares,” which had a better sense of atmosphere and pacing.
Here, we at least get Brad Dourif, put to good use in a cameo appearance; Dourif, the Oscar nominee best known as the voice of Chucky and the Gemini Killer in “The Exoricist III,” is just one of the many cast appearances that lovingly nod to the genre.
In addition to Dourif and Englund, Danielle Harris (whose work in “Halloween 4” and “Halloween 5” showcased a remarkable child actress) makes a strong impression in an un-glamorous (but not entirely un-sympathetic) role.
The great John Neville (playing a power hungry dean of students) and Loretta Devine (who stole “Waiting to Exhale” outright) are also in supporting roles. Devine is a wonderful actress but her character (who later pops up in the dreadful 2000 “Urban Legends: Final Cut”) comes across as a broad stereotype.
Blanks later directed “Valentine,” a better-than-remembered slasher movie that cleverly spoofed the ghastly dating scene of pre-9/11 America and managed to blend genuine satire with horror film conventions.
“Urban Legend,” in comparison, has lots of jump scares but few actual scares. It obviously thinks it’s very clever, piling on the pop culture references (everything from “When A Stranger Calls” to “Stripes” gets brought up) and noted urban legends still in circulation (even today). However, it’s a shallow film, both silly and mean spirited.
Although the first and second act are full of memorable set pieces (with the Englund/Jackson lecture fake-out arguably the best remembered scene), the ending is terrible. The Talking Killer finale is full of bad monologues and some overly mannered “crazy” acting, though the performer playing the scenes can at least be credited as giving a scary “psycho face.”
RELATED: Sexy Horror Movies … from a Female Perspective
Another low point is the killing of a dog (a serious mainstream movie no-no), done in a way both gross and sheepishly out of view.
Despite how underwhelming “Urban Legend” is upon revisiting it today, it nevertheless holds its own as an essential genre film in horror history. Why? Because it’s a post-“Scream” work that, unlike “I Know What You Did Last Summer” or “Disturbing Behavior,” pushed teen horror forward and clearly was influenced by Wes Craven’s game-changing ode/assault to what the late, great movie critic Reggie McDaniel used to call “slasher-bashers.”
The film might have hit theaters at the tail-end of the decade and showcased “of the moment” tunes by Rob Zombie and Stabbing Westward, it’s less ’90s than expected. If anything, slasher movie fans will note how much “Urban Legend” feels like it could work on the same triple feature bill as the 1981 “Hell Night” or (my all-time favorite ’80s slasher movie) “April Fool’s Day.”
'Urban Legend' provided a great bridge to films like 'Scream' to 'The Cabin in the Woods,' even as it's not in that caliber.Click To Tweet“Urban Legend” is more of a violent mystery with a dark sense of humor than what Roger Ebert used to call (not inaccurately) “The Dead Teenager Movie.” Likewise, the characters in this are smarter than expected, even if the dialog (and the hard to swallow final reveal) are on the level of a lesser “Scooby-Doo” episode.
History has proven that post-modernist, hipper-than-anticipated horror films don’t eliminate the lesser works they mock. Not only, for example, was “Scream” followed by the un-ironic, popular but dumb-as-a-bloody-doorbell “I Know What You Did Last Summer,” but a year after the long-delayed, kinda-brilliant “The Cabin in the Woods” came the “Evil Dead” remake that told the tale straight.
And, let it be said, is an excellent work and rare remake of merit.
At one point, Leto says, “I’ll Be Right Back,” without a trace of irony; “Scream” openly teased movies like this. Yet, a gag at the expense of Jackson’s “Dawson’s Creek” is hilarious, a good Christopher Young score makes this more exciting than expected and there’s a scrappy wit to this that counters the genre checklist it clearly marks off every 10 minutes.
“Urban Legend” provided a great bridge to films like “Scream” to “The Cabin in the Woods,” even as it’s not in that caliber, like a nerdy Freshman standing sheepishly outside the prom, jealously watching the cooler kids having fun…which, come to think of it, is the opening of “Valentine.”
The post The Real Reason ‘Urban Legend’ Still Matters appeared first on Hollywood in Toto.
In what comes as a shocking revelation, actress Tanushree Dutta opened up about the time she faced sexual harassment by the hands of Nana Patekar.
One of the Karan Johar’s ambitious projects ‘Rannbhoomi’ will star actor Varun Dhawan in the lead role. According to the latest development, Janhvi Kapoor might be seen playing the female lead in the film.
Anushka was recently spotted applauding for her darling husband as he proudly received Khel Ratna from president Ram Nath Kovind.
On the latest front, the makers are all geared up to release a new song from the film tomorrow. The new song from the film titled, ‘Morni Banke’ will be unveiled by the makers tomorrow.
Saif Ali Khan, who has done many experimental films in the past and in recent times, is now ready with a new project. His upcoming film is titled as ‘Baazaar’ and the trailer is truly something worth checking out.
